Photo: Trevorwelsh · CC BY-SA 4.0Wellesley’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Wellesley Free Library serves Wellesley’s 30,524 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 554K print books and media and logged 341K visits.
The short version on Wellesley’s library
Wellesley uses its library more than almost any town its size
Wellesley Free Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 18 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 98% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 61% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 46 items per child in Wellesley last year. Kids & programs ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Wellesley Free Library ran 1,521 programs last year, about 29 a week. That’s 50 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 46,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Wellesley ranks 7th in Massachusetts for kids’ borrowing
Out of 268 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own, Wellesley comes 7th for children’s items borrowed per child. It’s also #10 for borrowing and #13 for library use. How it compares ↓
Wellesley invests in its library
Wellesley Free Library spends $130 per resident a year, about three times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (90%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind Wellesley’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Wellesley is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #83 of 283 in Massachusetts. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
194 community nonprofits are registered in Wellesley
6.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 11 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.9%
5.9% of Wellesley’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical Massachusetts town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Wellesley’s residents live; 2022.
About 11 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Wellesley last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Wellesley Free Library serves 30,524 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 53 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
554K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 193K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.9 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
3 places to borrow in Wellesley
Wellesley Free Library, 530 Washington St., Wellesley.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wellesley? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Wellesley
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wellesley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $13M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 22,414 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Wellesley ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weston | Weston Public Library fine-free | 23.5 | 65 | A− |
| Wellesley | Wellesley Free Library fine-free | 18.1 | — | A− |
| Newton | Newton Free Library fine-free | 14.1 | 65 | A |
| Needham | Needham Free Public Library fine-free | 13.8 | 65 | A− |
| Natick | Morse Institute Library fine-free | 12.6 | 64 | B |
| Dover | Dover Town Library fine-free | 12.5 | 51 | A− |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Massachusetts libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Wellesley
Does Wellesley have a public library?
Yes. Wellesley Free Library, 530 Washington St., serves Wellesley’s 30,524 residents (the survey’s count).
Is Wellesley Free Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Wellesley’s library?
It logged 11.2 visits and lent 18.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Wellesley’s civic life grade?
A− Wellesley is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life, #83 of 283 in Massachusetts. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Wellesley.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.